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WHO IS JOHN GALT? 1957–1968
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into new cities, he took out newspaper advertisements describing
Objectivism as the philosophy of Ayn Rand. In 1962 he and Barbara
published a hagiographic biography, Who Is Ayn Rand?, which included
an essay by Nathan on the fundamentals of her philosophy. Slowly public
perception of Rand began to shift, establishing her as a philosopher,
not just a novelist. The NBI ads and lectures made Objectivism into a
movement, a larger trend with Rand at the forefront.
Rand’s fi rst published work of nonfi ction, For the New Intellectual, set
forth the creed her young fans would follow in the coming decade. Most
of the book consisted of excerpts from Rand’s already published fi ction,
except for the title essay, which called for a cadre of “New Intellectuals”
who would work together with business to celebrate the achievements of
industrialism and capitalism. In the essay Rand identifi ed three categories
of men who had clashed throughout history: Atillas (despotic rulers),
Witch Doctors (priests and intellectuals), and Producers (spiritual
forerunners of American businessmen). The fi rst two terms, she noted,
had been coined by Nathaniel Branden, whom she formally thanked for
his “eloquent designation.” 7 She traced their confl icts through Western
history until the Industrial Revolution, when two new social types were
born: the modern businessman and the modern intellectual. According
to Rand, the two were supposed to work in tandem to manage, direct,
and explain the changes stemming from the Industrial Revolution. But
intellectuals had committed “treason” in the face of this grave responsibility,
choosing instead to hold down Producers by promoting altruism
as an ethical imperative.
Rand’s essay mixed history, philosophy, and polemic into a bewitching
brew. While her typologies bore a clear resemblance to traditional
divisions between proletariat, capitalist, and revolutionary vanguard,
she centered these differences in mental outlook, not economic position.
Producers were different from Witch Doctors and Atillas because
they were independent and rational rather than mystical. Even though
she avoided the language of economic determinism, Rand saw history as
a kind of spiritualized class struggle. She took readers on a rapid tour of
Western intellectual history, quickly summarizing and critiquing several
major schools of philosophy.
Rand then paused to clarify her most misunderstood and controversial
idea, her attack upon altruism, or “moral cannibalism,” as she liked
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